EDITORIAL: Time for city to cut losses and pay Lowe

2:21 p.m. EST, June 24, 2012|Daily News, Bowling Green, Ky

Rather than charging taxpayers another dime in lawyer fees to fight an already protracted legal battle, the city of Bowling Green should write businessman Don Lowe a check for $850,000, the amount a jury awarded to Lowe this week after they found the city liable for fraudulent misrepresentation.

A jury also ordered city electrical inspector Rick Maxwell to pay Lowe $120,000 in punitive damages.

Instead of throwing away more taxpayer money to appeal this case, it's time for the city and Maxwell to issue apology checks and move on.

Lowe filed a lawsuit in 2007 in Warren Circuit Court claiming that the actions of the city and Maxwell following a power outage at the grain mill forced Lowe into default with creditors and vendors and prevented him from acquiring new business.

A Sept. 26, 2002, thunderstorm damaged the roof at Lowe's Feed and Grain on Clay Street. A circuit breaker shorted out after water got into the business. The next day, Lowe called an electrical contractor who told him that rainwater shorted out the business' circuit breaker.

Maxwell inspected the business the same day and refused electricity restoration to the facility, claiming that the feed and grain business wasn't safe or compliant with Bowling Green's electrical codes. The power was not restored to the business until February 2004.

The decision on the part of the city resulted in $1,104,985 losses to the business, according to court testimony, and put 11 people out of work.

This lawsuit begs one question.

What did the city of Bowling Green possibly have to gain by waiting nearly a year and a half to restore electricity to a long-standing business that provided employment and added to the taxbase?

The answer may lie in a letter that City Attorney Gene Harmon sent to an attorney representing Lowe at the time that Bowling Green was issuing a condemnation order on the mill building and that the building should either be repaired or demolished.

Many small business owners might have walked away from the fight.

But not Lowe, who appealed the order and obtained permits to fix the problems at his facility, winning one small battle at a time until he finally won the war.

This case does make one wonder what city leaders at that time had in mind for that spot on Clay Street.

Perhaps, it was nothing. But it sure does look like the city didn't want Lowe's Feed and Grain there.

This lawsuit and the subsequent jury verdict should put the city, city elected leaders and all city employees -- from electrical inspectors, to the city attorney, to police officers, to clerical staff -- on notice that the regular Joes who are called to jury duty recognize deceit and bullying when they see it.

The case should also serve as a warning to other small business owners here -- watch your back!